How To: Trick Yourself Out For Memorial Day

Nikon Coolpix S6

Cost: $450.00

Those accustomed to bulky cameras might dismiss Nikon’s Coolpix S6 at first glance. It only weighs about five ounces and is three-quarters of an inch thick. But get beyond the small packaging and images of Kate Moss fondling one on the TV ad, and you’ll find it loaded with great features and capability. The Coolpix S6 has six mega pixels and a 3X optical zoom to ensure quality shots. In case your photographic talent is more Gomez Addams than Ansel Adams, built-in logic removes red-eye and sharpens your subject. The Best Shot Selector fires 10 consecutive pictures and retains the best of the lot. You can call it "The Little Camera that Could."

Coolest Feature: Wi-Fi networking lets you download your pics to enabled PCs or printers without the entrapment of adapters.

The Daiquiri Whacker

Cost: $279.00

The Daiquiri Whacker will aid in loosening any of your party inhibitions — and better yet, those of your partygoers. We really had to investigate this to know if it was for real. After all, it looks like it belongs on an e-mail attachment of homemade redneck innovations. The inventor, Steve Reid, jokes about his moment of inspiration: “I was drunk, bored and mad at my weed whacker!”

Kidding aside, the Daiquiri Whacker is actually quite useful. It sports a 30-cc, two-stroke motor that will make short work of ice and whip the ingredients in a delicious frenzy. Forget about boring pushbuttons controlling speed. The handlebars have a motorcycle-like twist throttle. No matter how reserved people are, it brings out smiles and giggles from even the biggest wallflowers. Of course, after a few glasses it becomes involuntary. The Daiquiri Whacker isn’t the only gas-powered blender to make portable potent potables, but it’s the coolest.

Coolest Feature: Asking a hot guest if she wants to touch your Daiquiri Whacker and not getting slapped.

Alpine Blackbird

Cost: $699.99

You can’t afford to be lost, wrestling with unwieldy maps or asking for directions from the herbally-enhanced skater at the gas station. Arrive on-time, pride intact, by letting the Alpine Blackbird navigate. Forget taking your eyes off the road for too long, trying to use a Mini-Me-sized screen and buttons. Alpine gets it right with a single, four-way control button and 3.5-inch LCD. Its text-to-speech capability also lets you keep your eyes on the road. Blackbird’s hard drive has an impressive 4 GB and knows six million points of interest. The Microsoft media player is ready to play from several formats, including SD cards. Blackbird is about 6” x 3” x 1” in size and weighs 8 ounces, making it easy to carry along and use outside the car. That is, unless being lost is your thing. Coolest Feature: Since road construction season unofficially opens during Memorial Day weekend, Blackbird’s detour feature keeps you aware of the men in orange and can route you around those zones.

Honorable Mention: Personalized BBQ Brander

Cost: $49.95

As a seasoned grill master, you take your skill seriously and always want to leave a lasting impression. Why not heat up the Personalized BBQ Brander and burnish the beef? As if our vegetarian and vegan friends aren’t disgusted enough by our carnivorous ways, here’s the icing on the cake… or maybe, the pepper on the steak. You can select up to three initials to personalize your brander. Coolest Feature: Making your mark, even on your guest’s meat.

36 hours with a new toy

Memorial Day weekend is one of the sweetest-sounding phrases we know, giving us all some much-needed time to recharge. Having the right gadgets is essential to make the most of your 36 hours — gear up and get going.